Dal Segno
by cosmophile
Summary: “Why is it never over? Why is it always just beginning?” Hermione and the reformed DA must struggle through a Third War. With Harry left scarred from events one year prior, as well as unexperienced soldiers for the Light, who will be left standing?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Still don't own anything.**

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"He needs to be talked to."

"I know." I thought of my mother's rose garden back home, back when I was a child and she sang to the beautiful blossom-laden bushes.

"He won't get better on his own."

"I know." I imagined him lost in a thicket of roses; they were overgrown and armed with massive thorns that tore into his skin.

"He needs your support."

"I know." he was growing out of a pot, feet rooted in rich, black soil, and I was tying a small post to him to keep him upright like a sapling.

"Miss Granger, are you listening or simply agreeing to shut me up faster?" healer Connover folded her arms across her chest into a tight knot. "I understand you may be a very prominent professor-"

Narrowing my eyes, I stared stonily at the heavyset woman before me. Her jaw was set crookedly, a look I knew meant that she was getting impatient. The healer and I hadn't gotten along well since the beginning, over four months ago, when we first brought him in.

"I understand the implications quite well, thank you," I said calmly; my gaze meandered over to the two-way mirror, through which I could see him looking forlornly at the floor. "I'll be taking him now if that's all right with you, ma'am."

Healer Connover remained silent for once and I took it as her assent. She wouldn't stop me now; no one would, save Merlin himself. I quietly opened the door to his room and knocked lightly to gain his attention. His eyes flitted to me at once, their dulled color shining strangely in the fluorescent light, for once holding familiarity in place of fear.

I was hoping for a smile, but he simply stared, wary. Forcing a small smile of my own, I moved closer and took his hand slowly so he wouldn't be startled. "We're going now, dear. Are you ready?"

"I can leave?" his voice was tired and rusty and spoke of its months of disuse. "Will they let me leave, Hermione?" he seemed panicky all of a sudden. I watched, worry rising slowly in my throat, as his breathing escalated and his hands began to tremble. "Can I leave?"

"Yes. Yes, you can leave. It's all right." I hated seeing him like this, so afraid. If we hadn't been neglectful of him, he wouldn't have ended up here in the first place, though, so we had only ourselves to blame. And I can assure you that no one - _no one_ - felt as badly about his condition as I did. "You're coming with me, okay? You'll stay with me."

His words were small, low, back to their sullen pitch. "Okay."

I led him out past Connover, glaring hard at her as we passed, and stole a glance back at the few possessions he'd garnered during his stay: a locked case for his wand, two changes of clothes, his medications, several books I'd sent to him to ease the time. Since the standoff a year ago, my friend had retreated into himself and eventually vanished. By the time we'd found him, he'd been reduced to a shivering mess held captive in an old broken down house in the Irish countryside. The order, furious, dissolved into chaos and we were left without an organized defense group. Unless, of course, if you counted the then-graduating seventh years: most of the Gryffindor, a couple Ravenclaws, several Hufflepuffs, and Draco Malfoy. A young Auror from Ireland also joined us after she stumbled upon the holding cells. My friend hadn't been the only one; he'd just been the only one left alive.

"Hermione." we were in my car now, on the road, windshield wipers on to repel the rain. I drove a Muggle car so as not to attract suspicion. Music from the radio played softly in the enclosed space to ease any uncertainties he had.

"Hmm?"

"Am I still friends with-"

"Harry now isn't the time," I whispered softly. The redlight shivering above us wouldn't change, no matter how hard I glared at it. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat beside me, as if ashamed at being reprimanded. "What I mean is, now's not a good time. Everyone will be at the house, okay? I'll introduce you when we get there."

He didn't reply, turned his gaze instead to the window. Shame and fear clouded the car.

"It's all right; I didn't mean to be so short with you. I'm sorry." he mumbled something to the steamed glass, but I didn't catch it. I let it go. "We'll be there in fifteen. Are you hungry? I can call ahead. I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind-"

"No," and it was the only word I'd heard him speak with confidence in a long, long time. "I'm fine."

Smiling slightly, I pulled onto the highway. "Good."

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_Please note that the first two chapters were originally written using all lowercase letters as the mood struck. Content may be edited for proper grammar (i.e. capitalization) if time permits._

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_Feedback? Suggestions?_


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: My promise still holds, JKR: I'll return them when I'm done :)**

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"Nia?" the door swung open before us but I didn't see anyone in the entrance hall. "Nia, we're here." Harry hesitantly took a step closer to me, so that he was standing at my shoulder a mere hand's-breadth away - the closest he'd willingly gotten to another person in ages. I could feel his soft breaths on my ponytail.

"Who's Nia?" he whispered.

I smiled and led him inside, waving my wand over his shoulder to guide his things. "A friend of ours. They're probably in the kitchen." we took a dark, narrow hallway to a living room shielded from the gloomy sky by thick draperies. The room had been painted a bright, cheery yellow, but the lack of occupants made it appear cold and empty. Our footsteps fell in time with the rain pattering insistently on the roof. The kitchen was down a flight of steps which led to the entirety of the first floor, the house having been built into a hillside. As we entered a magically-enlarged dining room lit by a series of floating candles, Harry stiffened and his steps seemed to falter slightly. I pretended to ignore this and kept walking, leading him straight into the warm and cozy kitchen where several people were preparing dinner.

"Harry!" a small redhead at the sink immediately broke out into a large smile. "It's good to see you again." Ginny approached slowly, her expression relaxed and friendly despite the anxiety I knew had to be coursing through her. "I've missed you," she said quietly.

Harry shrugged and replied, "Same here, gin." he didn't smile - and because he didn't, the whole room was on edge.

"Hey, mate." a cluster of our old schoolmates crowded around him: Seamus, Neville, Ernie, Oliver, Fred, George. Ron sat in a corner peeling potatoes the Muggle way with his shirtsleeves rolled up. I could feel my temper rising slightly because I'd known this would happen; I'd known that Ron would play his cold-shoulder card no matter how many dirty looks I threw him. Ron had paid a visit to Harry's hospital room when he'd first been admitted, but for unknown reasons Harry sank into a blind panic at the sight of him, his magic going haywire. Harry had become tentative around the subject since, and I avoided it until I couldn't any longer.

One sunny afternoon I'd come to pay my weekly visit to my friend in his room. He usually sat in silence, fiddling with his bed sheets, eyes downcast - and it was something I'd slowly grown to accept. However, I'd known the time had come to confront him about his living arrangements once he left the hospital. These arrangements included sharing a small house with Ron, and, if their last encounter had been anything to go by, I would've had to concoct a better plan.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" he'd looked up at me, questioningly but wary all the same. "Why won't you see Ron? He loves you very much; he's your best fr-"

"No he isn't," Harry spat. "He hates me. He told me so. They all told me-"

Startled, I took a hold of his twitching hands to calm him. "Who's 'they'?"

"Them!" he roared, eyes wide. He was on the brink of another panic attack, I knew, but- "death eaters! Sons of bitches with their goddamn-"

It was then that I learned some of what he'd been through during his disappearance. Harry raved for several minutes, his confessions and descriptions punctuated with nonsense words and threats every so often. Language colorful, I felt myself cowering in his candidness; he'd taken a risk in telling me and held nothing back in his retelling.

"Harry," I'd finally stammered with tears stinging my eyes, "I'm sor-"

The color drained from his face as he seemed to deflate, his expression fluctuating between blank and sympathetic. "I know you are. You always are."

Back in the present moment I focused my most threatening glare on the redheaded man now disappearing into the pantry. He emerged to meet my eyes with indifference and I felt my temper increase a few notches. Harry was still in the midst of exchanging hellos, so I took the opportunity to cover the distance between Ron and me.

I stopped a few inches away from his working hands and hissed, "Ron, go say something! You know it's not his f-"

"Hermione, no. he'll start a scene again. You weren't there last time to see how bad it was; they had to sedate him." his voice remained calm, but the strain showed in his slightly narrowed eyes. His peeling became more violent and clumsier.

"Ron, can't you try? I spoke with him. please." annoyed at his lack of attention, I seized the peeler, gripping it tight enough to break the skin of my palm. "I'm serious Ron! He won't get any better if you ignore him all the time-"

He growled up at me, eyes narrowed even further. "You actually think he'll get better? Merlin, I thought you were above those lies! That healer spouts a load of crap - they all do! They just want you to _think_ he has a chance so you don't feel as bad!"

I stood there spluttering for a moment before turning on my heel and stalking off. The peeler crashed into the sink beside Ron, who was still simmering quietly with his potatoes. How could he say that? _How_ could he justify something like that? It wasn't false hope. He of all people should know that there's always a chance, not matter how unlikely. Had he forgotten school so easily?

Ginny handed me a cloth without comment and touched the tip of her wand to moisten it with some sort of antiseptic. she threw a troubled look in her brother's direction but he was back to peeling, this time with his magic doing the work as he sat back and pouted. "He's acting like such a child," she told me. "I can't understand it. No matter how many psych classes I take he _still_ seems to defy all the rules."

I snorted at that. "He's never been one to follow rules."

Ginny shrugged, a small smile on her lips. "true." the sensor on her wrist suddenly lit up and she glanced at it in surprise. "Baby's up," she muttered distractedly. Catching my eye, she gestured with her head to the pot she'd been tending. "It'll be ready soon. Stir it, please?" she Disapparated silently before I'd even had time to nod.

Nia had caught Harry's attention. I noticed he was standing a good distance away from her lively hands, backed up against the far wall that led to the patio.

"-'tis such a pleasure t'meetcha, 'Arry, truly is." her smile was wide, showcasing her big, pearly teeth. "I only been in England since 'Ermione o'er there picked me up wi' 'er crew, so tha's wot? On'y a coupla months, i'm thinkin'. Any'ow, m'name's Numbers. Tad strange, but wot's a girl t'do, hmm? People jus' call me Nia, thank god."

Harry stood stock-still, his eyes roaming over her frizzy blonde hair tamed into a messy bun, her celery-colored eyes burning with an unsettling intensity, the friendly part of her lips. He seemed puzzled by her, but he hesitantly stuck out his hand just the same.

"You too," he murmured with nary a stutter. I felt a stab of pride in my chest.

"I shan't doubt you're 'ungry, so I'll get meself back to cookin'. Pleasure, me good sir." And with a flourish, she turned back to her dicing and slicing, humming some folk song to herself.

The others had disappeared into the dining room most likely. Before every meal, it had been established long ago that whoever wasn't busy helping in the kitchen set the table. This usually applied to most of the men, except for the pitiful few who could prepare vegetables without mishap. The last time Neville had been assigned to slice carrots he'd somehow managed to slice his finger instead. Ginny had immediately repaired the damage with an amused smile and a quiet "careful, dear" to her fiancé. Now, I could hear the gentle clinking of silverware and china emanating from the room. Vaguely, I was aware of Harry following from a slight distance.

"-icks this time, Fred, got it?" a misty-eyed Luna was saying from the stairwell that spilled out into the room's far corner. She waved at the sight of me and my little tagalong. "Glad to see the smallowkralls haven't gotten to you, Harry."

He nodded from the shadows but didn't enter the room even after I did. Luna descended the steps so she was in the very heart of the pre-dinner frenzy, then crossed to share a few words with me.

"How's he doing?" she asked softly. Harry stood observing the goings-on with a keen but wary interest. When I noticed his eyes were fixed on a specific spot in the room, I turned to glance at whatever it was over my shoulder. Looking at Luna with sudden worry, I said, "We'll see. He's spotted Draco."

The former Slytherin had been setting a few glasses down and uncorking a bottle of butter beer for the lazy Susan centerpiece. His gaze was now locked onto his silent observer, expression blank as he waited for Harry to make the first move. I'd told Harry how it had been Draco who led those search parties; how it had been through Draco's efforts the search radius had been expanded to include Ireland. Without him, Harry knew now that he would have been worse than dead. I hoped what I'd said would hold up now, when they met face-to-face for the first time since our Hogwarts graduation ceremony.

"Harry." the use of his first name slowed the movement in the room considerably; all heads turned in Harry's direction to watch his reaction.

His nervousness manifested as a sudden paling; all the stares were applying more pressure than he wished to handle. But somehow, beneath it all, he managed a soft, "Draco."

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_Please note that the first two chapters were originally written using all lowercase letters as the mood struck. Content may be edited for proper grammar (i.e. capitalization) if time permits._

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_Feedback? Suggestions?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: They're JKR's :)**

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Harry spent the next month locked in his room on the second floor, right next door to me. I could hear him in the mornings singing softly sometimes, but I could never make out the words. His footsteps were soft and he never bothered anyone, and whenever I went to check in on him he pretended to be asleep on the windowsill. It had been at my suggestion that he stay upstairs except for mealtimes; the house was in a terrible turmoil from recent attacks on Muggles and wizards alike in central London. I didn't want Harry to have to hear any of this so soon after his release.

Now I sat silently in the kitchen, poring over newspapers and text books borrowed from the Hogwart's library. I often took the liberty to visit Minerva at the old school where she still reigned as Headmistress. With open arms she accepted my requests to use the school's resources, and with Harry's return home, I had frequented it nearly every day the past few weeks. I had just shut a dusty tome about the Dark Arts when I noticed a pair of green eyes watching me from the patio. He smiled blankly at me; curious, I leaned backwards to unlock the door for him - only to find it already unlocked and sliding open of its own accord. I didn't say anything about this little show of magic and instead grinned brightly at him.

"Hello, Harry." Despite asking him to stay in his room and my belief that he actually listened, Harry had obviously evaded his room more than once. Peering into the back garden over his shoulder, I saw he'd managed to cause a break in the Apparition wards that glimmered strangely in the afternoon sunlight. As the caster of all the wards protecting the house, I could see the differences in the magic and their boundaries. My spells were a distinct lavender, whereas Harry's disturbance sparkled silver with an ever-present, shifting streak of black. The black unsettled me, but Harry's voice quickly snapped me out of my musings.

"It's warm outside," he said softly with a small, strange smile. His eyes glowed dully in the light; his hair laid in a rumpled mess above the pale skin of his face.

"I haven't been out yet," I replied. Vaguely I felt sad at not having enjoyed the beautiful weather, but I felt the weight of the papers in my hands more. Harry moved closer and I held my breath.

"I think you should go outside, Hermione."

Shuffling the papers in my hands I attempted to gesture at all the work I had left to do before the meeting later on, but his hands fluttered and before I could set the sheaf straight he'd Apparated away. I blinked at the patch of tile Harry had just been standing on. Cautiously, I called, "Harry?" just to see if he was hanging around somewhere out of sight. The soft sounds of birdcall and insects buzzing reached my ears, everything but a distinct _crack_ or my friend's voice. Then again, he'd Disapparated with nary a sound - had been able to for years - so why was I expecting it all of a sudden? I shook my head and was about to dive back into my scripts when Nia bustled in and began raiding the cupboards.

"Oh mercy me, where di' I go an' put..." she muttered. "Oh Merlin..."

"Nia?" She looked startled for a second, as if puzzled as to how she ended up in my presence, then broke out into an easy smile.

"'Ermione, dear! I promise I'll start makin' supper as soon as I find me rack o' bottles... They're around 'ere somewhere, I know they are..."

I reached a hand into the dishwasher and checked the racks - empty. "Did the baby wake up again?"

She nodded. "Yes, an' such a racket she's makin'! Gin's gone an' tried to quiet 'er but you know Colly, the poor lass, she cries like a banshee iffen anyone stops rockin' 'er even for a mo'."

A weary smile was all I offered as she continued her mad race to find the baby bottles. Nia froze seconds later, bopped herself on the forehead, and drew out her wand to summon them. I'd gone back to my papers, trying desperately to reorganize them into categories, when she started tut-tutting to herself in what seemed to be puzzlement. I spared a glace - and my head froze halfway in the motion.

"Nia?"

The woman stared at me in bewilderment, flicking her wand a sixth, seventh, and eighth time. "Is there an interference charm somewheres?" I managed a dumb gape; memories were assaulting me, and I had to fight to breathe. Suddenly bright morning sunlight blinded me and my magic refused to shield me and Harry was screaming somewhere- "-st don' understand why me charm's not workin'. Draco, c'n y'get anythin'? I tried a summonin'..."

Draco had joined us in the kitchen with his wand drawn. He glanced at me as he flicked his wand and nothing happened. "I tried _Lumos_," he explained. I watched him pass his hand over the tip in curiosity, but his expression betrayed nothing. The wand showed no signs of changes or tampering.

"I-I'm going to check on Harry," I muttered quickly. Nia and Draco continued to run through spells; I could hear them over my shoulder, and every jab they made into the air stung my chest. _'I think you should go outside, Hermione_, Harry had said. Walking quickly, I let myself out into the yard and peered around. The brightness of the light sent a shiver of fear through me, but when I recovered, all I saw was Nia's garden and the shimmering lavender wards...

Squinting into the haze of late afternoon, my eyes struggled to pick out a small figure standing at the boundaries of my wards. I began walking toward the figure under cover of a disillusionment charm, breath coming in painful gasps as the possibility of discovery began to sink in. My steps brought me closer and closer, but the size of the figure did not grow; it remained small like a child. Closer and closer, the pressure in my chest building... I lurched along with my thoughts swirling madly. _No magic... Disabled... Vulnerable... The baby... Harry..._

And then I saw what it was. A big, shaggy dog stood panting on the other side of the lavender wall. Stumbling backwards in shock, I gasped when cold hands suddenly caught my shoulders and held on tight to help me keep my balance. My gaze met Harry's - calm, frightened, hopeful - when I looked up. I tore my gaze away quickly and directed it back at the dog, back to the white something clutched between its teeth. Not knowing what else to do, I reached out to the animal to collect whatever it had in its jaws-

"Oh Merlin!" I tripped drunkenly into Harry, who stood rooted to the spot, tense with terror as he sensed my fear. The dog grinned at us like a skull; its teeth shone sickeningly in the sunlight, appearing grimy and filthy, unspeakably filthy. "Oh _Merlin!_"

Harry suddenly bent down and peered closely at the wraith of a dog, something strange stirring in his eyes. I recognized it immediately and grabbed his shoulders, trying desperately to pull him back - the dog had triggered his subconscious and he was relapsing. "Harry, no! Don't cross the wards-"

"Sirius?" he said in a childlike voice. "Sirius?" His hand shot out abruptly, I tried to grab it, I tried-

_primoris a tritempus._

A chill voice shot through me, knocking me off my feet; the day suddenly grew strangely hostile and dreadfully _cold_- Springing upright again, I searched frantically for Harry... About twenty feet away, the dog had transformed into a hooded figure, and that figure was dragging a struggling Harry away from me towards a low hill. Screaming madly I ran past the protective wards and yanked out my wand.

"LET HIM GO!" I shrieked. "LET GO OF HIM!" The figure halted and seemingly stared at me; it stole the breath from my lungs in an instant when a dark cloud of something started to gather at its feet and wind its way up its tall, thin body. Harry wasn't moving and I thought I would scream myself hoarse before I reached them... they kept moving farther and farther away it seemed, like a light at the end of a never-ending tunnel. The darkness coiled up around and around and with a jolt I realized it wasn't the hooded figure that was summoning it, but-

"HARRY!"

Everything was sucked away as if a huge twister had ripped through, none of the darkness remaining, the day just the same as before-

"HARRY!"

He stumbled three paces before he collapsed to his knees, staring at something clutched in his shaking hands. I finally reached him and skidded to a halt in the grass beside him; he turned wide, terror-stricken eyes to me and I looked down.

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	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: JKR owns them :)**

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"Don't _touch_ it!" I batted the thing out of his hands, which had already started to burn under its influence. Harry let out of cry as the skull hit the ground and began burning profusely, emitting discolored flames and sparks of green. A miniature Dark Mark hovered over it in the wispy smoke, and I quickly ran my hand through it to dispel the damn thing.

"I-" Harry's head snapped up and he looked toward the other object the dog had left behind. Over in the tall grass about twenty feet away, a white something poked out of the weeds. I shivered when I caught sight of it again, but Harry got clumsily to his feet and went over to investigate. The skull had burned itself out by now; only a pile of fine, black ash remained, and even that was ridding itself on the wind. Vaguely I thought that this _thing_ shouldn't be spread around like the plague, so I dug a shallow hole with my bare hands, filled it with all the ash, and hurriedly covered it back up.

"Her-Hermione!"

"What?" I got up to follow Harry over, back to the arm. The dog had been holding an adult arm in its teeth, mottled with white, blue, and black. In its lifeless fingers it clutched a message... and this was what Harry had yanked out of its death grip. "What is it?" I asked, my voice shivering.

"I... I d-dunno." But no sooner had he said this did the paper disintegrate into fine black ash as well; the same resounding, unspeakably chill voice echoed through my mind.

_primoris a tritempus_.

Harry made a disturbing whimpering sound at the back of his throat. Looking up anxiously, I saw he had shut his eyes and covered them with his burnt hands. I moved over to him and held his shoulders tightly, murmuring, "It's all right, Harry, you're-"

"He's back," he whispered. "He's back and he's come for me-"

"What?" I stared at his frightened expression. Most of the Death Eaters responsible for his torture had been hauled away to Azkaban, and Voldemort was dead, having been killed by Harry himself - his death was what sparked Harry's kidnapping. I also knew for a fact that voice wasn't Voldemort's... it was too low and too cold.

"He's b-back," moaned Harry. "H-he's b-back!" I twisted around so I could better hold his wrists together; his eyes were wild, and an episode was coming on. He began thrashing around to get out of my grip, but he was still thin and weak and couldn't break my hold. "NO! LET-"

I hadn't been expecting his sudden Apparition. We reappeared in his room upstairs, on the balcony, and a jolt of fear raced through me when Harry finally freed himself and bounded toward the balcony's safety railing.

"Harry, get down from there!" I screamed at him. His hands were clamped tightly over his eyes and he was trembling violently, still screaming, "_He's b-back!_" Cautiously I took a step toward him, and when he didn't seem to notice at all, I ran at him and tackled him down from the edge. "Calm down Harry!"

"Does he need to be sedated?" Draco suddenly appeared and helped me restrain the struggling man. I knew Harry and I knew how he hadn't fully regained his strength in the four months of treatment - but this little show of adrenaline and Merlin knows what else was scaring me because of how _strong_ it made him. Before the blond finally got a good hold on him Harry nearly clipped him one to the jaw. We were all breathing heavily when Harry finally stopped, wheezing slightly in his gasps for breath.

"There's a..." I shut my eyes briefly. When I opened them again, Draco had administered a dreamless sleep potion and Harry lay motionless in his small bed. I managed to swallow thickly before I relayed what had happened. The blond seemed puzzled, just as he had been when his wand wouldn't obey his spells.

"An arm? Amputated surgically or torn off?"

"I-I didn't get a good look before he threw a fit... I was looking at the dog..."

Draco sighed. "At first I thought it might be a grim, but... I dunno, I've never heard of one carrying something, or transfiguring itself into a man. Animagus maybe? Or was the dog too much of a coincidence? And why would it destroy itself?"

"I don't think it did," I said, shaking my head. I cast a glance at Harry's sleeping form, prone and pale like in the hospital; I brushed that thought away. "It seemed like it was Harry doing it, like, the black...ness came from him and just kept twining itself around the other figure until it... died."

"Burst into more black flames," he said, and his voice held a hint of disturbance. "Maybe that dog thing was the reason why our wands wouldn't work correctly? As soon as the front door slammed shut, everything we'd summoned came crashing in. Nia's got a bruise the size of France stamped across her forehead. Maybe it was slowing our magic down to gain our attention?"

I shrugged, "Harry came down minutes before and said, 'I think you should go outside.' When I looked out at the garden, I could see a magical disturbance, where Harry's magic was visible through my own. His signature is silver, but there's black in it too; I don't like that at all, Draco."

"Aftershocks? Kinda like... lasting impressions of all the spells they used on him. Connover did say they couldn't erase all the damage. I'm thinking the remnants are manifesting as adulterations in his magic. My... I've been told that my own signature is stained as well," he added grimly. "However, I don't think I've ever made black _coils_ or whatever they were kill some evil demon. Not that it isn't useful, mind you, but I've never been able to do that."

"Hmm." We got up and left Harry to sleep away his terror; no sooner did we leave the room, we bumped into a worried-looking Ginny and baby Colly.

"Is everything okay, Hermione?" Colly cooed contentedly at us. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I marveled at how she'd cry if anyone left her alone for two minutes, but remained as happy as ever during one of Harry's fits.

"Now. He's sleeping with a potion." I didn't want to upset her - she was already stressed enough, what with Neville on some nameless mission and Colly bursting into tears constantly - so I omitted the reason. Draco tactfully remained silent as well on the matter.

"Poor thing," she muttered as she brushed Colly's hair from her face. "He always looks on the verge of a breakdown... And I can't forget the look on his face when we told him-"

_"Harry," I said quietly. "We need to get everything out in the open."_

_"Open?" He blinked, curious and fearful._

_Ginny cleared her throat softly and took his hand. "Harry, it's been a long time since we last met. Years, actually, and I hope you can forgive me, Harry, I really do. I'm engaged to Neville now and I love him very much. We have a baby, and her name is Colleen-"_

_"En-engaged? Baby?" Harry looked painfully confused, as if we spoke a different language. "We're not-"_

_"No, Harry. But I'm still your friend," she added quickly at his hurt expression._

"I know," I said, "but he's moved on as well. He understands. I'm just afraid of all these nightmares and- oh Merlin, his hands!" I snatched up my wand and reentered his room. Harry sat up immediately, blinking silently. Startled, I froze on the doorstop and felt everyone else follow my example. Ginny was the first to break the silence and strode purposefully toward Harry, offering him a still-cooing Colly. He recoiled, afraid, but she placed her firmly on his lap and wrapped his arms around the child.

"C-Colly," he stammered. The baby reached up and grabbed his nose, twisting it, and I saw him flinch away.

Ginny scolded the baby and slapped her arm lightly. "Don't grab, Colly, that's rude." Harry looked apprehensive at the thought of getting close to Colly again, but he couldn't remove her due to his hands. I rummaged through the medicine cabinet in the attached bathroom as Draco, by the sound of it, made faces to garner some giggles and ease the atmosphere.

"Awwy!" Colly shrieked. I heard a gasp from the other room, then more giggles. Where was the damn salve at? There had to be at least a hundred bottles stacked on the shelves, most of them spelled shut to any hands but my own. Peeking inside a heavy orange bottle, I withdrew a little of its contents with my wand before replacing the goop and the bottle. _Where is the burn salve?_

"AWWY!" Suddenly I heard a thump, followed by loud bawling and stammered apologies. I rushed back in with a thick blue bottle in hand. Harry was curled up against the wall, his eyes wide and breathing heavy. He kept muttering apologies to Ginny as she collected and calmed Colly, who'd been dropped to the floor on her bottom. She didn't like this very much, apparently, because she threw her dragon rattle at Harry with unerring accuracy. I watched in horror as Harry stared between the toy and the child, something like betrayal shining brightly in his eyes. He quickly got up and pushed past me into the bathroom, where he sat down on the toilet lid and blinked up at me, avoiding the sight of either Ginny or a still-bawling Colly.

Ginny, however, stepped into the bathroom anyway and looked right at him. "It's okay Harry, she needs to mind her manners, the imp. Are your glasses all right? She didn't break them?" He shook his head quickly and she left with an apologetic smile in my direction. I could hear her ranting at Draco through the wall minutes later, asking, "Why can't Colly be a good little girl, just for a while, and not scare the living daylights out of him? Why Draco? Am I not a good mother? Is that why-" He began to reassure her that she was an excellent mother, and that Colly merely had a bit of the Weasley mischief streak in her like the twins. I promptly stopped listening when Harry sighed loudly into his hand.

"I-I don't understand, Hermione," he said haltingly. "I _try_ to-to be normal, like I was before, b-but I can barely remember any-anything past... past..." He shook his head, pain set deep into his eyes. "Why c-can't I-"

"Harry, it's neither your fault nor a weakness," I told him sharply. "Some things take time. But your hands... I need to treat them now before they get any worse, okay sweetheart?" He held them out with an air of defeat and I thought back to earlier, before the dog appeared, when Harry was smiling at me and telling me about the weather. _Primoris a tritempus_, the voice had said, but what did it _mean?_


End file.
